OREANDA-NEWS. EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti will visit Taipei on 1 March where he will meet with the Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, Minister of Foreign Affairs David L. Y. Lin, Deputy Governor of Central Bank Chin-long Yang and Secretary General of the International Cooperation Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) Wen-lung Tao.

Further strengthening the growing EBRD – Taiwanese cooperation, President Chakrabarti, Secretary General Tao and Minister Lin will sign a memorandum of understanding to explore opportunities for parallel financing of projects with a focus on the Bank’s Sustainable Energy and Sustainable Resource Initiatives, especially in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. This will build on the existing co-operation under the Green Energy Special Fund, where both sides co-finance innovative energy efficiency investments.

President Chakrabarti will also visit the control system of Taipei’s metro, which is computerised and fully automated and controls the entire more than 100 km long, line. The EBRD delegation will also visit the Institute for Information Industries, a public-private partnership established in 1979 that has been instrumental in the development of the country’s world-renowned information and communication technologies industries and knowledge-based economy.

Finally, President Chakrabarti will also attend a conference on “Building Central Asia with EBRD” which will discuss joint investment opportunities in a region with huge potential for Taiwanese investors. The EBRD is pleased about the Taiwanese interest in working together with the Bank to help develop knowledge economy throughout the Bank’s countries of operation.

Taiwanese funding has provided vital support to the EBRD since the Bank’s establishment in 1991. Funding for technical assistance through the TaiwanBusiness - EBRD Cooperation Fund has benefited all countries of operations and stands at some USD 34 million for more than 230 projects to-date.